There are two things that will carry me through a bad day: the first is a hefty chocolate bar (preferably Galaxy chocolate), and the second is coffee. Beth’s cupcakes tempt me to find reasons to have a bad day. “Ow, a paper-cut!” Looks like I’ll be making some cupcakes tonight. I think Beth feels the same way. On Delicious Inspiration she admits that she should be thinking about other things in life, but cupcakes are just so much more appealing. I think we can all agree to that.

My mother always told me that calories don’t count on your birthday or holidays… shouldn’t that apply to bad days as well? If not, I think I’m going to be in serious trouble.

I’m one of those people that can have their cake and it eat too (in the literal sense, of course :), but that’s just because I love to bake and would never deny myself (or be able to resist) a freshly baked piece of cake. But I can’t say that I’ve ever had my cake with breakfast and eaten it too! Joey’s dad has, though. She just so happened to make him a Maple Bacon Pound Cake with Sweet Maple Glaze for Father’s Day. I’d say that’s an interesting but very yummy gift that I would be more than happy to receive on any occasion.

When I think of Joey’s fun cake recipe, as she describes it on her blog Salute to Sanity, I can smell the aroma of a warm breakfast…maybe pancakes? Definitely bacon! Oh, and grade A syrup…basically, all the heavenly ingredients that make breakfast the greatest meal to hit our kitchen tables. Who knew that the perfect combination of sweet and salty foods could be found in a cake?

The only thing that is making me more jealous than not eating this bread right now is Paola’s description of where she enjoyed this tasty loaf! On her blog, In My Life, Paola describes the most wonderful afternoon of pampering and treats a woman could ever imagine. After a long day of wine tasting, shiatsu workshops, food tastings, and beauty treatments Paola settled in for a picnic on the beach to enjoy her tomato and chorizo loaf accompanied by fresh strawberries and a bottle of rosè.

All of our days may not resemble Paola’s, but the summer heat beckons us all to take a break beneath our favorite shade tree to enjoy a picnic with friends and family. Be sure to take along this delicious loaf and your favorite summer salad for the perfect light summer lunch.

Think of all the amazing discoveries that resulted from experiments, do any of them smell fabulous? I’m not talking about the moldy Alexander Fleming type of medicinal breakthroughs, I don’t imagine those smell very pleasant, I’m referring to kitchen experiments! You know…the kind that result in Orange Creme Bundt Cakes!?

Even though Em calls her blog The Repressed Pastry Chef, I highly doubt that title applies to her, being that she is the great uninhibited Orange Creme Bundt Cake recipe inventor. She didn’t let anything hold her back from coming up with a recipe that’s leaving us all drolling over our keyboards as we virtually devour this dessert with our eyes!

Let Em’s decision to come up with an Orange Creme Bundt Cake, instead of settling for any old recipe, be an inspiration to you! Don’t be afraid to get into that kitchen and create something you’ve been wanting to make for years. In the words of the poet Horace, Carpe Diem!

Strawberries and black pepper? Probably not the first combination that comes to mind when dreaming up fresh and sweet summer treats, but Vera’s pairing in this delicate dessert is phenomenal! Vera lists on her blog, Baking Obsession, tips for creating just the right amount of spice so to not overpower the sweetness of the strawberries. If you aren’t convinced to try this dish by my simple description you will be once you see Vera’s pictures!

Sugar and spice and everything nice… that’s what this dessert is made of!

In her blog, appropriately named Family, Friends, and Food, Patsy features an appetizer put together by a close friend with a knack for finding the recipe…you know, the one that gets all the compliments at dinner parties? Being that Patsy’s blog offers an array of healthy and tantalizing recipes, I knew that the Grilled Zucchini Goat Cheese and Basil appetizer she gave rave reviews to had to be equally as delectable.

Though the name of the recipe captures the essence of each ingredient, there’s more to this appetizer than a simple vegetable combined with an addicting dairy product and a little green herb thrown in for color. The zucchinis are grilled and paired with goat cheese! And the basil? It actually serves as a wrapper for the zucchini and cheese, creating a bundle of fresh flavor — it doesn’t play the role of the neglected garnish that gets tossed to the side.

So just how good were these Grilled Zucchini Roll-ups with Herbs and Cheese that Patsy and her family couldn’t get enough of? She says they were so good, only 2 or 3 were left on the plate by the time dinner came to an end. Serve these at your next dinner party, and there will be no need for party favors :)!

Even though Ginny’s recipe is an entree and not a dessert, her Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo still has a sweet story attached to it. In her blog Just Get Floury, she mentions growing up in a home that had its very own fettuccine alfredo expert, and that special person was her dad. Slightly tweaking his original version, Ginny was able to give the recipe her own creative touch by transforming it into a creamy and rich dinner that families on a budget can enjoy.

One of Ginny’s secrets to making this dish more affordable? Roast the peppers yourself! She decided to save her money and not buy those roasted peppers in a jar after all. The results of this decision? A truly homemade meal packed with a lot of love and amazing flavor.

Carrie from Eating the Garden proves that biscuits can satisfy your craving for something sweet, baked, and spicy…spicy? Yep, that’s one adjective she uses to describe her wine infused biscuits, Red Wine Biscuits to be exact. Even though they’re packed full of flavor, it isn’t the butter doing all the flavoring this time. In fact, these biscuits are completely butter-free; only a third cup of vegetable oil is used in Carrie’s low-fat recipe.

They may look like bagels, but don’t let their donut-like shape deceive you. You’ll find they have a bit more spunk than your average carby treat. Drink these with a cup of coffee and you’re good to go — that’s Carrie’s suggestion. Personally, I’d want to savor every last bit of these biscuits without any other distractions — who needs coffee ;)?

It is definitely no secret how much Grace loves cinnamon. And when I say “loves,” I’m talking obsession. A quote from her blog, A Southern Grace: “It’s no secret–even sporadic readers of my blog should know how strongly I feel about cinnamon. I can’t get enough, and I’ll add it to just about any recipe if it’s not there in the first place and bump it up if it is.” At least Grace expresses her love for cinnamon in the most tasty of fashions.

Cinnamon is the type of spice that is more appealing to me in the fall and winter seasons, but Grace’s Cinnamon Cake sounds irresistible. I don’t think I could wait 4 more months for a slice of this mouth-watering dessert!

When the word chili comes to mind, I usually imagine football games, Summer gatherings, and hot dogs. Though it’s finger lickin’ good, I’ve never categorized chili as a health food…that is, until now. Mandira’s Black Beans Chicken and Chili is a dish that falls under many categories, including healthy. Beef isn’t the source for her chili’s heartiness, though. Instead, Mandira uses vegetables and chicken to thicken up her version of this exciting but still traditional meal.

What’s even more impressive about Mandira’s adapted recipe is that she used the chicken she had left over from a previous meal to make her chili; what a great way to spice up leftovers. And she certainly spiced it up, using seasonings ranging from cilantro to corriander.

Let’s not forget, adding veggies to chili is a creative way to get the kids to gobble up their veggies, unbeknownst to them :). Mandira’s Black Beans Chicken and Chili recipe is, therefore, a family-friendly one! Read about other delicious foods presented by Mandira on her blog Ahaar.